Parent – teacher communication guidelines to try now

 

When children return to school, it is important to establish the best possible parent-teacher relationship. Check out our guest blog post by educator Daina Lujan on how teachers can communicate effectively with their parents.in this article, we will share Parent-teacher communication guidelines to try now,

I recently spent a Saturday morning meeting a friend over a cup of coffee in a cozy café. After saying goodbye, I went home with a smile and thought about our time together. Visiting friends was brief, but our conversation was a great gift.

Collecting time as a gift and talking to others changed my thinking about parent-teacher communication. Oftentimes, important messages between educators and parents are lost in busy work, lesson planning, meeting student needs, coordinating childcare, and preparing meals. With this in mind, it is not surprising that educators who pick up their mother or father and try to talk about their child’s troubled days are often quick or hasty.

As a parent and educator, I keep changing roles throughout the day to save time for meaningful conversations between items on the to-do list. We have established communication guidelines that maximize all conversations by changing perspectives and evaluating opportunities to talk to teachers and parents.

Tips to strengthen communication between parents and teachers:

All teachers know the importance of building relationships with their students’ parents. Get in touch with us regularly, provide information on teaching guidelines, and make appointments with students to discuss important topics. In addition to these general rules, what specific steps can you take to improve mom and dad communication in your class?

1. Chat with your parents between delivery and collection. By taking the time to say hello, ask questions about the students, and get excited about upcoming events, you can develop a relationship with parents before a formal meeting. That way, if a problem arises, you can at least talk easily to the student’s parents, relieve tension, and start a supportive conversation. Prepare for your day before birth to use this time with your parents. (Allowed by the school’s COVID-19 guidelines).
2. Set a specific time to communicate with your parents. At the beginning of the year, make it clear that parents can expect to see you at certain times of the day, for example, every Monday evening or the 15th of every month. These class-wide updates allow parents to be informed of upcoming events, activities, and tasks. Also, convey your commitments throughout the class. The bigger picture helps parents understand that decisions should be made in the best interests of all students, not individuals.
3. Ask your parents for comments that will help you tell them how to communicate. Take the time to talk to different parents and find out which type of communication is best for them. Does the newsletter work? To distribute? Do you prefer a website or email from class? It is not necessary to personalize each parent’s communication, but by participating in the conversation, mothers and fathers feel that their opinion matters and tell them how easy and effective parent-teacher communication is.
4. It offers parents concrete and practical solutions to their children’s problems. When children struggle at school, parents often feel helpless or overwhelmed and often don’t know what to do to help. Empower them by giving their parents certain items at home that can help resolve the situation. For example, if a student has reading comprehension problems, ask mom or dad to predict what will happen next if you read the story together. This approach fosters a sense of connectedness between you and your two and shows parents that you see them as partners who will help your child improve.
5. Celebrate the positive. Communicate with parents regularly to celebrate your child’s academic or social achievement in the classroom. This positive improvement strengthens the bond with the parents and ensures balanced communication in case they need to communicate with the parents.
6. Explain the “reason” for your decision to teach. You are an expert in teaching in the classroom and you decide how you teach based on a variety of factors. Sharing the thought process behind a decision with a parent without prompting shows that you have enough confidence in the teaching methods to share it with the parents and ask what the parents don’t understand. I urge you to do so. This also helps avoid awkward conversations that you think should be followed by yourself or your teaching method.
7. You come to the phone prepared and have the conversation face to face. Difficult conversations can easily become emotional for a number of reasons. If you are ready and keep the conversation evidence-based, you can continue to focus on defining the problem and responding appropriately to their support.
8. Assess the effectiveness of communication. After you’ve used the same communication methods for a while, see how they work. Do the parents have the necessary information? Are they talking to you? Do you get what you need from them? Make changes that reflect what you’ve learned about practicing effective communication with your parents.

All adults who teach, raise, and raise children want the best for their children. Unfortunately, parents and educators share the same vision, but there are competing needs that can lead to conversation and frustration among the stars. By actively building strong bonds with parents, you can avoid this frustration and help your students reach their full potential.

The essential:

Parent-teacher discussions usually take place once or twice a year during the progress report. A simple meeting that lasts between 10 and 30 minutes. Meetings are usually scheduled 1 to 2 months in advance. Some middle and high schools only require meetings with parents to discuss issues. Most schools reserve a specific date and time for meetings, but if the school’s schedule conflicts with the family’s schedule, finding a mutually convenient time or arranging a phone or video conference is worthwhile. . Take into account special circumstances such as divorced parents, single parents, parents, etc. For example, some divorced parents prefer separate meetings.

Learning should be the focus of parent-teacher conferences, but it is also important to discuss factors that can influence learning, such as student behavior and social development. Other topics include standardized test scores, tutoring plans (IEPs), 504 educational plans, peer relationships, classroom behavior, motivation and work habits, and student strengths and challenges.

School staff who support students’ learning can also attend the session. The administrator can accommodate your request or that of a parent or guardian. Some teachers prefer to have students attend part of a session to show that both parents and teachers are part of the educational team.

Before the meeting:

Get the information. Make sure you are familiar with the school or district protocol for progress reports or testimonials, grade assessment guidelines, and other student assessment tools. During the meeting, testimonials or progress reports serve as a starting point for discussions and as a guide for the meeting. It also allows you, if possible, to share your regional or state standardized test results. Make sure you know how to personalize or differentiate your students’ teaching with standardized test data.

• Prepare the ingredients. If you have the materials ready well in advance of the meeting, you can have peace of mind when your family shows up at the classroom door. If you are teaching during the school year, consider what assessments will be shared and reported at the session. Review the dates, assignments, and student grades given to parents and write down what you would like parents to ask about their child to aid their learning.
• In addition to the progress reports, it is advisable to have a separate briefing folder with 3-5 student documents on grades and progress and available test results.
• You can also create a meeting summary and agenda and share them with your parents to find out what to expect. Some teachers have worksheets that include strengths, needs, social, or behavioral notes that they can convey during the meeting.
• When discussing issues, make sure you have examples of fraud and misplacement. Also, let the parents know about the problem before the meeting. If the parents know your concerns before the meeting, they may be ready to discuss possible solutions during the meeting.
• Send an information invitation. Be sure to use other parenting forums to communicate the importance of attending new school evenings and get-togethers, and let them know that they are an important part of your child’s educational team. When sending home information about the date and time of a meeting, give your parents some time to choose. An effective parent-teacher meeting is a two-way conversation about the student so that the invitation tells them to ask questions. You can also remind parents to respect other parents’ time and make it clear that if the parents are late, the deadline will not be extended.
• About a week before the meeting, we will remind you where and when the meeting will take place and the agenda of the meeting. If a conflict arises and you cannot meet in person, try to arrange a different type of meeting, by phone or video. Before making a phone call or videoconference, send a copy of the material home so you can have it handy when your parents speak.

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